Rare Apple I computer auctioned off for $387k

An Apple I model from 1976, one of the first 25 Apple computers ever built, has sold for $387,750 (about £260,000) in an auction.

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An Apple I model from 1976, one of the first 25 Apple computers ever built, has sold for $387,750 (about £260,000) in an auction.

The Apple I, as the name suggests, was the first in Apple's long line of desktop computers, and models are now rare; it's thought that there are less than 50 still in existence. The auctioned model is of particular historic interest since it was one of the 25 first models to be assembled (it has the serial number '01-0025').

Auction house Christie's auctioned the Apple I online, Apple Insider reports, and rose to $387,750 after bidding started at £300,000.

After an Apple II sold for $671,400 in Germany earlier this year, the price is actually a little longer than was expected, but still represents a hefty markup on the system's original (and somewhat Satanic) price of $666.66. About 200 units were produced.

Following the German sale, Bob Luther, the author of The First Apple, spoke to Macworld about the Apple I's steadily increasing price. "Well, the Apple 1 - there were only 200 built and they came out of the garage of Steve Jobs. And then Apple had a trading programme, because they wanted to bring them back, so they destroyed a lot of trade-ins. So, there are about 46 of them remaining today. It's really the holy grail of collectible technology."

Last year, James Hyslop, a Christie's scientific specialist, said: "This is the computer that started Apple, now recognised as the most valuable company in the world. Its significance in making computer technology accessible for all cannot be undervalued."